FRANCIS TURNER PALGRAVE AND THE GOLDEN TREASURY By MEGAN JANE NELSON M. A., Flinders University of South Australia, 1978 A THESIS SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY in THE FACULTY OF GRADUATE STUDIES (Department of English) We accept this thesis as conforming to the required standard THE UNIVERSITY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA April 1985 (^Megan Jane Nelson, 1985 In presenting this thesis in partial fulfilment of the requirements for an advanced degree at the University of British Columbia, I agree that the Library shall make it freely available for reference and study. I further agree that permission for extensive copying of this thesis for scholarly purposes may be granted by the head of my department or by his or her representatives. It is understood that copying or publication of this thesis for financial gain shall not be allowed without my written permission. English Department of The University of British Columbia 1956 Main Mall Vancouver, Canada V6T 1Y3 Date 15 April 1985 )E-6 (3/81) ii ABSTRACT In spite of the enormous resurgence of critical interest in minor figures of the Victorian era over the last twenty years, almost no attention has been paid to Francis Turner Palgrave (1824-1897). In his own age, he was respected as a man of letters, educator, art critic, poet, friend of Alfred Tennyson, and editor of The Golden Treasury of the Best Songs and Lyrical Poems in the English Language, first published in 1861. This dissertation attempts to make good that neglect in two ways: firstly, through an analysis of his life and times, an assessment of his writings as an art and literary critic, an examination of his considerable corpus of original poetry, and the compilation of the first comprehensive bibliography of his own publications. This bibliography is accompanied by a checklist of manuscript sources and a listing of secondary materials about Palgrave himself. Secondly, the dissertation makes the first systematic examination of the Golden Treasury, its genesis and editing principles, its critical reception, and its publication history. This detailed study is accompanied by eight appendices giving bibliographical information about the form and contents of the four major editions of the Treasury published in Palgrave's lifetime, along with a listing of sources and a checklist of contemporary reviews. Throughout the dissertation, the intellectual concerns that led Palgrave to develop a set of fixed principles for judging all art and literature are examined in order to establish that, like his friend Matthew Arnold, he was a committed Hellenist, who insisted that all poetry conform to what he perceived as the "Homeric" ideals of simplicity and unadorned language. The iii Golden Treasury, in particular, is based on an ideal of "unity" which Palgrave used to justify the many editorial excisions and variant readings which are such a feature of the volume's texts. It is impossible to account fully for the unprecedented success of the Golden Treasury, which has continued to be reprinted in a variety of editions from the time of its first publication until the present, but one of its most important features is that it is the first anthology of English lyric poetry to declare itself complete: Palgrave insisted that the book contained all the best lyrics in the English language. Just as significant is the fact that it is the first anthology by a professional educator who refused to make his selections on the basis of their morally improving qualities, but relied instead on poetic excellence alone. "Francis Turner Palgrave and The Golden Treasury," therefore, attempts to account for the extraordinary success of the Golden Treasury and to examine one of the nineteenth-century's more interesting minor figures, one who was a friend of some of the most brilliant men of his day, including Jowett, Browning, Arnold, Clough, and Gladstone; a recognised minor poet of the "contemplative" school which included Arnold and Clough; and a well-known champion of the Pre-Raphaelite painters. iv CONTENTS Abstract i Table of Contents iii Acknowledgments v Chronology vii Introduction 1 Chapter One LIFE AND ASSOCIATIONS 4 Two PALGRAVE AS CRITIC i. Introduction . ........37 ii. Art Criticism 51 iii. Literary Criticism 67 Three PALGRAVE AS POET 79 Four PALGRAVE AS TREASURER i. Genesis and Publication 103 ii. Editing Principles 119 Iii. Critical Reception 144 iv. Subsequent Editions 152 APPENDICES: THE GOLDEN TREASURY Introduction 171 A. Bibliographical Descriptions of Significant editions . .175 B. Significant Textual Variants 184 C. Significant Title Changes 188 D. Additions and Omissions in Later Editions 198 E. Editorial Errors 203 F. Sources 204 G. Reviews 210 BIBLIOGRAPHY Introduction 211 I. Primary Materials 1. Manuscript Collections 213 2. Books and Separate Publications 217 3. Art Criticism Articles 231 4. Literary Criticism Articles 239 5. Reviews 247 6. Miscellaneous Articles 254 7. Fugitive Poetry 259 II. Secondary Materials 1. Books and Articles on Palgrave 263 2. Obituaries 264 3. Golden Treasury Bibliography 264 4. General Bibliography 265 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The debts to friends, family, and colleagues in Australia, Canada, Great Britain, and the United States that I have incurred since beginning my graduate work are too numerous to mention. I can only hope that in this dissertation I have justified their faith in me. For making possible this study of Francis Turner Palgrave, I should like to thank, first, Julian and Christopher Barker, the copyright owners, who kindly gave me access to the Palgrave Family Papers and allowed me to quote from unpublished letters. Of the librarians and curators who made materials in their collections available, I should like particularly to thank Dr. Dennis Rhodes of the British Library and Mrs. Lola Szladits of the Berg Collection of the New York Public Library. To the many scholars with whom I have corresponded—Peter Allen, Clarence Cline, Philip Elliott, Colin Home, the late Walter Houghton, Cecil Y. Lang, Norman Kelvin, Simon Nowell-Smith, and Philip Scott—I am most grateful for their advice and encouragement. I should also like to thank Charles Cox and the firm of Bernard Quaritch for their efforts in searching out vital Palgrave material; Palgrave's publisher, Macmillan, who readily supplied information on the publishing history of The Golden Treasury; and, especially Alice McNair and Rita Penco of the U. B. C. Library, who were assiduous in tracking down rare Palgrave items needed in my research. I should like particularly to acknowledge the assistance of the members of my dissertation committee, Professors William E. Fredeman, John F. Hulcoop, and Herbert J. Rosengarten, for their careful reading and critical assessment of my work and for their useful suggestions for revisions. My adviser, Professor Fredeman has been most generous in providing me for vii several years with a working area in his house and in giving me complete access to his extensive personal library. His continued support and encouragement throughout the lengthy process of writing this dissertation have been invaluable. Finally, I must give special recognition to Dr. Jane C. Fredeman of the U. B. C. Press, whose editorial skills and practical advice on matters of style and organization have improved the dissertation immeasurably. viii CHRONOLOGY 1824 Born 28 September, Great Yarmouth, Norfolk 1838 Enters Charterhouse School 1839 Visits Italy 1842 Wins Balliol Scholarship 1843 Becomes Head of Charterhouse Enters Balliol College in October after visiting Italy with his father 1846 Withdraws from the university for one term to become assistant private secretary to W. E. Gladstone, Colonial Secretary for Robert Peel's government 1847 Achieves first-class honours in Classics and a Fellowship at Exeter College Publishes first articles, on Michaelangelo and Dante respectively, in Sharpe's London Magazine 1848 Visits Paris with Jowett in April to witness the Revolution 1849 Meets Alfred Tennyson on 31 March Enters the Education Office in London 1850 Moves to Kneller Hall near Twickenham as Vice-Principal of a training school for poorhouse teachers 1852 Lady Palgrave dies Publishes novel, Preciosa 1853 Visits Scotland with Tennyson 1854 Publishes first volume of lyrics, Idyls and Songs: 1848-1854 1855 Returns to the Education Office in London after Kneller Hall closes 1857 "Preciosa" marries ix 1858 Publishes second novel, The Passionate Pilgrim 1859 Visits Portugal with Alfred Tennyson 1860 Visits Tintagel in Cornwall with Alfred Tennyson, Thomas Woolner, and William Holman Hunt Begins work on the Golden Treasury 1861 Sir Francis Palgrave dies Publishes the Golden Treasury 1862 Writes memoir of Clough Issues his Handbook to the fine art exhibits in the International Exhibition Marries Cecil Greville Milnes on 30 December 1863 Appointed art critic of the Saturday Review Publishes his first poem; "Castelrovinato," in Fraser's 1865 Issues his Moxon Miniature Poets selection from Wordsworth's poetry Edits a bowdlerised edition of the Songs and Sonnets of Shakespeare Resigns from the Saturday Review 1866 Publishes Essays in Art Writes a memoir for an edition of Scott's Poems 1867 Issues his original Hymns Withdraws from the competition for the Oxford Professorship of Poetry 1868 Publishes The Five Days Entertainments at Wentworth Grange, a collection of children's stories 1869 Produces Gems of English Art of this Century 1871 Issues his Lyrical Poems 1875 Publishes his Children's Treasury 1877